TRAVEL WITH CARE

healthy trucker

Are you away from home more than you are there? Many long haul drivers spend weeks on the road and then come home for only a couple of days before doing it all again. This can take a toll on your relationships, especially those with your immediate family. Lose the lonely with these helpful tips for building and maintaining healthy relationships as a trucker. This post wraps up our healthy drivers series; are you seeing positive change in your lifestyle?

Make a Plan

Which relationships are most important to you? Make a list of the relationships that you want to focus on while you’re away, listing them in order of priority. Come up with a plan for maintaining contact and interacting with each of these important people. When you have a plan in place, it is easier to make the relationship actually happen. Define your priorities and then stick to them. One of the worst things you can do for a relationship is nothing. Pick up the phone. Send that text. Write an email. Do it now, not tomorrow.

Use Technology

You may be gone a lot, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be present, especially during those important moments. Technology can connect you to your family, allowing you to see that dance recital, to celebrate that promotion, and to read those bedtime stories to your children at night. Get a smartphone or other connected device and use it to connect with those that you don’t see as often when you’re on the road. Skype, HangOuts, and Facetime are three easy options for video chatting. Family and friends can also send you videos over social media and email when you’re not available real-time.

Share the Journey

As a trucker you see more of the country in a week than most people do in a lifetime. Share your journey and help people to experience the magic and beauty that is trucking. Although there may be a lot of boring on any given day (tarping, long waits at the marshalling yard, and missed crane appointments to name a few), there’s also plenty of excitement waiting to share (beautiful sunsets, that authentic Memphis BBQ, and the supersize tank you’re hauling). Update friends and family of your adventures and share a whole new world with them: yours. Social media makes it easy to keep everyone up to date.

With your immediate family, keep the lines of communication open. You might be far away, but you can still share in the day to day by talking about your lives. Find out what is going on at home and share about your adventures in the truck. It might not seem exciting to you, but to those that love you, the everyday can be fascinating. Share your journey and delight in the adventures of those you love.

Make it Home When it Matters

Getting home for a specific date can be difficult, but make it a priority, especially for those most important events. Your spouse may say that they are happy to spend their anniversary alone, but odds are, they really do want you there. Look ahead at the calendar and choose the key events to schedule your home time around. Let your family know that you’re willing to make their lives your priority by coming home when you need to.

Getting a long haul driver home can be difficult, but it is much easier on your dispatcher when they have plenty of notice. Ask for specific days off as far in advance as possible. You’ll be more likely to make it home if your dispatcher has plenty of time to route you that way. You know the date of your anniversary a year in advance; don’t ask to rush home a few days before.

Long hours on the road can take their toll on your relationships, but with a little extra TLC, you can keep those relationships at their best. Traveling with care means taking care of yourself, your family, and your friends, not just your freight. We’ll handle your insurance so you can focus on your relationships.